The Threshold for 'Yoon Seok-yeol Impeachment' Was High... "Cracks in the People Power Party Also Begin"

Only 195 Attend Vote, Vote Invalid
Some Cracks Confirmed in People Power Party, Future Variables
Opposition to Push Impeachment Again After Regular National Assembly Ends

The threshold for the 'impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol' was high.

On the 7th, the opposition parties attempted the third presidential impeachment in constitutional history, but ultimately failed to meet the required quorum, resulting in the motion being declared 'invalid.' A total of 195 lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties participated in the vote in the plenary session. Since the quorum was not met, there was no need to open the ballot boxes.

Earlier, on the 3rd, the six opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea defined President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law as 'rebellion' and initiated impeachment proceedings. The People Power Party decided as a party line to reject the motion and prevented voting by having its members not enter the plenary session.

Speaker Woo Won-shik is declaring the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol as 'vote invalid due to insufficient quorum' at the National Assembly plenary session on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

In the past, the impeachment motions against former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016 were all passed in the National Assembly plenary session, but this time it was the first time the motion was not approved.

In fact, even within the opposition, there were criticisms that the 'impeachment train was rushed.' Some argued that impeachment should have been pursued only after securing support from within the ruling party. However, the urgency stemmed from the special situation of rebellion, where President Yoon, as the commander-in-chief of the military, could not maintain his position.

In political circles, there were many predictions that the impeachment motion would likely be rejected. The ruling party, recalling the painful memory of the conservative camp being on the brink of collapse after the impeachment of former President Park, mounted an all-out resistance. Moreover, there were concerns that impeaching the president amid a disadvantageous situation involving charges such as rebellion would leave no way to recover.

The ruling party stated that they will "prepare measures to stabilize the political situation and minimize government confusion." For the People Power Party, it is expected that they will propose measures such as stepping President Yoon back to a secondary role, introducing a responsible prime minister system, and constitutional amendments to shorten the presidential term as part of the recovery plan.

However, although the ruling party narrowly avoided impeachment this time, the situation is not easy. Regarding the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor law, which was passed before the impeachment, 198 members voted in favor, approaching two-thirds of the total seats. At least six members of the ruling party rebelled.

On the 7th, the day of the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol, citizens are urging the impeachment of President Yoon in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

Considering that there were already 2 rebel votes in the first round and 4 in the second round related to the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor law, the People Power Party has begun to show signs of instability. Especially as the political situation becomes unstable due to charges such as rebellion, internal disputes over responsibility within the ruling party may accelerate division.

Moreover, in the impeachment vote of President Yoon Seok-yeol, which was conducted by open ballot due to the effective withdrawal of the ruling party, three members including Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Ye-ji, and Kim Sang-wook participated in the vote against the party line. After voting, Kim Sang-wook, who expressed opposition, stated, "If no measures acceptable to the public are taken before the next impeachment vote, I will agree to impeachment." This indicates that there are several latent factors within the People Power Party that could support impeachment.

Earlier, Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a press briefing before the plenary session on the same day, "(If the impeachment motion is rejected) since the regular session ends on the 10th, we will immediately convene an extraordinary session on the 11th to re-pursue impeachment."